Gender Roles in Disney Growing up I was always influenced by Disney whether by its TV Shows, Movies or even the animation characters. To many kids, Disney is “The Happiest Place on Earth,” well at least it was for me. Disney Channel was one of the few channels my parents felt was appropriate for me to watch as a little child, and even as I got older, I was hooked on it. It wasn’t until about a few years ago, when all the older TV shows stopped playing regularly that I stopped watching the channel. While doing this assignment, I was able to see how Disney uses Gender Roles in their films and movies in ways that were not evident to me in youth. Because Disney wants to attract to an audience of all ages and genders, film makers use their shows and movies to portray men as strong individuals who are dominant over the beautiful and passive women characters. On Friday and Saturday Nights, Disney Channel plays one of their “Original Disney Movies.” This past weekend, they played the Lion King which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I didn’t realize how much Gender Roles were involved in the movie till I looked for it while watching. In the movie, Mufasa, the King of the Wild has a son Simba who is expected to follow in his footsteps as rightful leader. When Scar, Mufasa’s jealous brother who envy’s his power murders him in hopes of becoming King, Scar who is just a little boy is scared. Scar is portrayed as a lost little boy who without is father is weak and afraid. It isn’t until one night when Mufasa’s spirit talks to Simba and tells him he has to be strong and take over what is rightfully is his that he has enough courage to go back to the Kingdom and confront Scar. The gender roles in the movie are very interesting. In what they call the “circle of life”, male figures are the dominant gender. Women cannot be the leaders; they are simply there for companions or spouses. When Mufasa dies, Queen Sarabi is not given the chance of becoming the leader of the Kingdom because she is a female. Mufasa who was in line to be ruler was just a little baby, so Scar took over the Kingdom and made it his dictatorship. Males are supposed to be strong, powerful and dominant in all aspects of society, and when Simba is scared of returning to the Kingdom to challenge his uncle, his mother, and friends and peers question his strength and courage. It isn’t a coincidence that when Simba is timid, that the animals of the Kingdom are confused and scared as well. The women and others follow in the lead of the male dominant because he is the strongest and most powerful. When Simba returns and fights Scar, order is restored and the circle of life goes back to normal. I also watched some of the Disney Movies specifically for this paper after doing some research on how Disney uses gender roles in its productions and films. I specifically watched the original Disney Princess movies which is what made Disney most famous for their happily ever after movies. In many of the films, men are shown as the dominant figures and women are ultimately viewed as the prize. These women are possessions and we see that with Belle and the Beast, Aladdin and Jasmine, Ariel and the Prince. Violence often occurs with these women because they are trophies being fought over. Not all films are like Cinderella where the women meet their Prince Charming. Till this day, many girls hope that they will fall in love with their own Prince Charming. Disney makes it shows appealing to its audience by showing the males masculinity and the women’s beauty and feminine like qualities. One of my favorite TV Shows that still is shown regularly is Wizards of Waverly Place. In that show, the Russo Family, who are a bunch of Wizards live in the city of New York. What I love about this show, is that it goes completely against what society thinks of men and women. In this show, Alex (girl) and Justin (boy) are two siblings that are complete opposites. Justin is the kind, honest and un-athletic child while Alex is witty, deceitful and lazy. In the episodes, Justin is picked on for being weak and girly while Alex is always getting into trouble. We are used to seeing the male figure as the strong independent character and it’s funny and refreshing to see that everyone's different. A lot of people like this show because even though Alex is very attractive she acts like a boy. In an episode I watched, she burps which is completely against what you are used to seeing girls do in society. Similarly in the Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Disney compares the lifestyles of two very different twin brothers and the lifestyles they have based upon their personalities. Generally speaking, boys are expected to carry a certain level of masculinity in society. Well in this show, Zach is the athletic, funny trouble making brother while Cody is the soft, sensitive and feminine brother who often gets made fun of or picked on. It’s funny how two brothers who live in the same household have completely different lifestyles. One is always getting into trouble, chasing girls and failing classes while the other stays home cleaning, cooking and studying. From these two shows, I can see how Disney user stereotypical gender roles and sometimes uses parallels to these characters to create amusement and entertainment for its audience. As human beings, we like when others make themselves look foolish because being the norm gives us self security about fitting in. Disney is such a popular brand and TV channel because it is so appealing to both genders and an audience of all ages. Kids will be influenced by these movies and TV channels and how they portray life and human values and morals. Disney tends to portray males as the dominant sex in society and that women are submissive to their power because they tend to be viewed as possessions rather than people. Although Disney does have some shows that have parallel’s to what the norm of society expects which may be a cause of why so many people find them entertaining.
Growing up I was always influenced by Disney whether by its TV Shows, Movies or even the animation characters. To many kids, Disney is “The Happiest Place on Earth,” well at least it was for me. Disney Channel was one of the few channels my parents felt was appropriate for me to watch as a little child, and even as I got older, I was hooked on it. It wasn’t until about a few years ago, when all the older TV shows stopped playing regularly that I stopped watching the channel. While doing this assignment, I was able to see how Disney uses Gender Roles in their films and movies in ways that were not evident to me in youth. Because Disney wants to attract to an audience of all ages and genders, film makers use their shows and movies to portray men as strong individuals who are dominant over the beautiful and passive women characters.
On Friday and Saturday Nights, Disney Channel plays one of their “Original Disney Movies.” This past weekend, they played the Lion King which is one of my favorite movies of all time. I didn’t realize how much Gender Roles were involved in the movie till I looked for it while watching. In the movie, Mufasa, the King of the Wild has a son Simba who is expected to follow in his footsteps as rightful leader. When Scar, Mufasa’s jealous brother who envy’s his power murders him in hopes of becoming King, Scar who is just a little boy is scared. Scar is portrayed as a lost little boy who without is father is weak and afraid. It isn’t until one night when Mufasa’s spirit talks to Simba and tells him he has to be strong and take over what is rightfully is his that he has enough courage to go back to the Kingdom and confront Scar. The gender roles in the movie are very interesting. In what they call the “circle of life”, male figures are the dominant gender. Women cannot be the leaders; they are simply there for companions or spouses. When Mufasa dies, Queen Sarabi is not given the chance of becoming the leader of the Kingdom because she is a female. Mufasa who was in line to be ruler was just a little baby, so Scar took over the Kingdom and made it his dictatorship. Males are supposed to be strong, powerful and dominant in all aspects of society, and when Simba is scared of returning to the Kingdom to challenge his uncle, his mother, and friends and peers question his strength and courage. It isn’t a coincidence that when Simba is timid, that the animals of the Kingdom are confused and scared as well. The women and others follow in the lead of the male dominant because he is the strongest and most powerful. When Simba returns and fights Scar, order is restored and the circle of life goes back to normal.
I also watched some of the Disney Movies specifically for this paper after doing some research on how Disney uses gender roles in its productions and films. I specifically watched the original Disney Princess movies which is what made Disney most famous for their happily ever after movies. In many of the films, men are shown as the dominant figures and women are ultimately viewed as the prize. These women are possessions and we see that with Belle and the Beast, Aladdin and Jasmine, Ariel and the Prince. Violence often occurs with these women because they are trophies being fought over. Not all films are like Cinderella where the women meet their Prince Charming. Till this day, many girls hope that they will fall in love with their own Prince Charming. Disney makes it shows appealing to its audience by showing the males masculinity and the women’s beauty and feminine like qualities.
One of my favorite TV Shows that still is shown regularly is Wizards of Waverly Place. In that show, the Russo Family, who are a bunch of Wizards live in the city of New York. What I love about this show, is that it goes completely against what society thinks of men and women. In this show, Alex (girl) and Justin (boy) are two siblings that are complete opposites. Justin is the kind, honest and un-athletic child while Alex is witty, deceitful and lazy. In the episodes, Justin is picked on for being weak and girly while Alex is always getting into trouble. We are used to seeing the male figure as the strong independent character and it’s funny and refreshing to see that everyone's different. A lot of people like this show because even though Alex is very attractive she acts like a boy. In an episode I watched, she burps which is completely against what you are used to seeing girls do in society. Similarly in the Suite Life of Zach and Cody, Disney compares the lifestyles of two very different twin brothers and the lifestyles they have based upon their personalities. Generally speaking, boys are expected to carry a certain level of masculinity in society. Well in this show, Zach is the athletic, funny trouble making brother while Cody is the soft, sensitive and feminine brother who often gets made fun of or picked on. It’s funny how two brothers who live in the same household have completely different lifestyles. One is always getting into trouble, chasing girls and failing classes while the other stays home cleaning, cooking and studying. From these two shows, I can see how Disney user stereotypical gender roles and sometimes uses parallels to these characters to create amusement and entertainment for its audience. As human beings, we like when others make themselves look foolish because being the norm gives us self security about fitting in.
Disney is such a popular brand and TV channel because it is so appealing to both genders and an audience of all ages. Kids will be influenced by these movies and TV channels and how they portray life and human values and morals. Disney tends to portray males as the dominant sex in society and that women are submissive to their power because they tend to be viewed as possessions rather than people. Although Disney does have some shows that have parallel’s to what the norm of society expects which may be a cause of why so many people find them entertaining.